About this book

The treetops of the world's forests are where discovery and opportunity abound, however they have been relatively inaccessible until recently. This book represents an authoritative synthesis of data, anecdotes, case studies, observations, and recommendations from researchers and educators who have risked life and limb in their advocacy of the High Frontier. With innovative rope techniques, cranes, walkways, dirigibles, and towers, they finally gained access to the rich biodiversity that lives far above the forest floor and the emerging science of canopy ecology. In this new edition of "Forest Canopies", nearly 60 scientists and educators from around the world look at the biodiversity, ecology, evolution, and conservation of forest canopy ecosystems.

'Forest Canopies' makes the beginning of canopy biology as a recognized field of intellectual endeavor... The book is coherent, well integrated, and eminently readable to a wide audience. Any scientist dealing with forests, whether as a forester, ecologist, biologist, conservationist, or other, will find this book essential to his/her library. It will be the primer for many years to come for graduate students newly entering this fascinating field. Nowhere else can an overview of this important, but previously neglected part of the forest, be obtained... In summary, this is an important, timely, authoritative, readable, and well-produced book. - FOREST SCIENCE

"'Forest Canopies' succeeds in presenting a synthesis of several diverse aspects of the function of tropical forests... The enthusiasm expressed in many of the chapters was contagious and the contributions are, as a whole, well written, referenced, and illustrated... There is an excitement reading about these explorations tens of meters above the forest floor in the tropics and this volume will provide a solid reference and foundation for those wishing to initiate inquiries in this unexplored habitat." - ECOLOGY

Contents

SECTION I: Structures of Forest Canopies Chapter 1: The Nature of Forest Canopies Side Bar: Verticality and Habitat Analysis: MacArthur and Wilson";s Biogeography Theory Revisited Side Bar: Empty Space: Another View of Forest Canopy Structure Chapter 2: Tropical Microclimate Considerations Chapter 3: Quantifying and Visualizing Canopy Structure in Tall Forests: Methods and a Case Study Side Bar: ";Canopy Trekking";: A Ground-Independent, Rope-Based Method for Horizontal Movement Chapter 4: Vertical Organization of Canopy Biota Side Bar: Macaws: Dispersers in a Tropical Habitat Side Bar: Vertical Stratification Among Neotropical Migrants Chapter 5: Age-Related Development of Canopy Structure and Its Ecological Functions Side Bar: Measuring Canopy Structure: The Forest Canopy Database Project Chapter 6: A History of Tree Canopies Side Bar: The Evolution of Rain Forest Animals Side Bar: The Botanical Ghosts of Evolution SECTION II: Organisms in Forest Canopies Chapter 7: What Is Canopy Biology? A Microbial Perspective Side Bar: Arboreal Stromatolites: A 230 Million Year Old Record Chapter 8: Lichens and Bryophytes in Forest Canopies Chapter 9: Vascular Epiphytes Side Bar: Orchid Adaptations to an Epiphytic Lifestyle Side Bar: Tank Bromeliads-Faunal Ecology Side Bar: Strangler Fig Trees: Demons or Heroes of the Canopy? Chapter 10: Mistletoes: A Unique Constituent of Canopies Worldwide Chapter 11: Hidden in Plain Sight: Mites in the Canopy Chapter 12: Soil Microarthopods: Belowground Fauna that Sustain Forest Systems Chapter 13: Tardigrades: Bears of the Canopy Side Bar: Rotifers in the Water Film Chapter 14: The Biodiversity Question: How Many Species of Terrestrial Arthropods Are There? Side Bar: Insect Zoos as Windows into Forest Canopies Chapter 15: Physical Transport, Heterogeneity, and Interactions Involving Canopy Anoles Side Bar: The Color of Poison: Flamboyant Frogs in the Rain Forest Canopy Chapter 16: Ecology and Conservation of Canopy Mammals Side Bar: Vertical Stratification of Small Mammals in Lowland Rain Forest of the Australian Wet Tropics Side Bar: Body Mass of Gliding Mammals: An Energetic Approach Side Bar: Orangutans: The Largest Canopy Dwellers SECTION III: Ecological Processes in Forest Canopies Chapter 17: Photosynthesis in Forest Canopies Chapter 18: Insect Herbivory in Tropical Forests Side Bar: Measuring Forest Herbivory Levels Using Canopy Cranes Side Bar: The Leipzig Canopy Crane Project: Biodiversity, Ecology, and Function in a Temperate Decidious Forest Chapter 19: Nutrient Cycling Chapter 20: Reproductive Biology and Genetics of Tropical Trees from a Canopy Perspective Side Bar: DNA Sequences and Orchid Classification Chapter 21: Decomposition in Forest Canopies Chapter 22: Survival Strategies: A Matter of Life and Death SECTION IV: Conservation and Forest Canopies Chapter 23: Tarzan or Jane? A Short History of Canopy Biology Side Bar: Canopy Walkways: Highways in the Sky Side Bar: International Canopy Crane Network Chapter 24: Economics and the Forest Canopy Side Bar: Ethnobotany in Forest Canopies Side Bar: The Value of Herbaria for Plant Conservation Chapter 25: Ecotourism and the Treetops Side Bar: A Climb for Conservation Side Bar: Florida From the Treetops Chapter 26: The Reintegration of Wonder into the Emerging Science of Canopy Ecology Side Bar: Global Canopy Programme: A Worldwide Alliance for Forest Studies Side Bar: International Canopy Network (ICAN)

Write a review

There are currently no reviews for this product. Be the first to review this product!

Biography

MARGARET DALZELL LOWMAN Chief Scientist, TREE Foundation

In October 1999, Meg Lowman became the Chief Executive Officer of Selby Botanical Gardens, an institution that specializes in tropical plants, especially epiphytes. Under her leadership, the Gardens expanded membership by 45 per cent and fund-raising by over 100 per cent. For eight years prior, she had been the Director of Research and Conservation there, overseeing a staff of scientists and educators. Her expertise involves canopy ecology, particularly plant-insect relationships, and spans over 25 years in Australia, Peru, Africa, the Americas, and the South Pacific. She has authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications and three books. After eleven years of service, she resigned from Selby Gardens to devote more time to her passions for public science, pursuing research, education and conservation with TREE Foundation.

Prior to joining Selby, Meg was an assistant professor in Biology and Environmental Studies at Williams College, Massachusetts where she pioneered several aspects of temperate forest canopy research and built the first canopy walkway in North America. From 1978-89, she lived in Australia and worked on canopy processes in both rain forests and dry sclerophyll forests. She was instrumental in determining the causes of the eucalypt dieback syndrome that destroyed millions of trees in rural Australia, and assisted with conservation programs for tree regeneration. She is also involved in long-term studies of rain forest regeneration. Meg has developed an expertise for the use of different canopy access techniques, including ropes, walkways, hot air balloons, construction cranes, and combinations of these methods. She frequently speaks about her jungle adventures and about rain forest conservation to educational groups, ranging from elementary classes to corporate executives to international conferences. She continues to travel worldwide to "map" the canopy for biodiversity, and to work on conservation. She received a Pew Fellow nomination (1993), the Margaret Douglas Medal for Achievement in Conservation Education from the Garden Club of America (1999), The Eugene Odum Prize for Excellence in Ecology Education from the Ecological Society of America, election to Leadership Florida (1997), Board of Trustees for New College, Kilby Laureate, and Earthwatch, and a fellow of the Explorers Club. Carolyn Shoemaker of the US Dept of the Interior named an asteroid after her. She co-chaired with First and Second International Conferences on Forest Canopies (1994, 1998), and was chief scientist for the Jason Project in Education (1995,1999). Her latest book, "Life in the Treetops", received a cover review in the New York Times Sunday Book Review. It was a New York Times Notable Book (1999), and received the New Yorker New Authors Debut Award. Meg received a B.A. with honors in biology and environmental studies from Williams College (1976), MSc. in ecology from Aberdeen University (1978), and Ph.D. in botany from the University of Sydney (1983).